Wild Roses
by abracat
Summary: One finds love in all of the strangest places. The story behind a Jeb and Az romance. Jeb/Az centric, DG/Cain, mentions of everyone else.
1. Chapter 1

"Uh… Hi." Jeb Cain knocked on his father's office door, letting himself in as he did, to meet his father's eyes for the first time in several months. He'd been away on business, here and there, looking for various resistance groups and telling them the news of Azkadellia's supposed revival. Hardly anyone truly believed him, but there would be a ball in a month's time to celebrate the older princess' new freedom, they could find out then. Jeb himself barely believed the news when he'd heard, but he trusted his father's judgment.

"Jeb…" The older Cain's voice possessed a cool tint to it, and the younger man winced slightly at it. They had been close before the sorceress' reign, but years of believing the other to be dead tore them apart, and they only had a few days together before Jeb decided the quest to spread the word was a good idea.

"I'm back."

"Yes, I can see that."

"I was actually wondering…" He had to pause, fingering the red scarf tied around his neck for a couple seconds before approaching his father's desk. "…If I could get a job… at the castle. With you being the head of guard and all, I thought you would be the right person to talk to…"

Cain was relieved to hear that. Judging by the awkward tone of Jeb's voice, you'd think he went out, got married and had several kids in the couple of months and had come for advice. He looked his son over, finally meeting his blue eyes once again. It was a little like looking at a younger version of himself, one that was more naïve, tons more uncertain of himself, but himself nonetheless. He had no idea why the young man had to be so unsure of everything he said and did, but he didn't question it.

"You've come to the right person, son." A small smile found a home on his face, as Cain gestured to the chair before the desk. "Come, sit. What were you looking for, specifically?"

"Honestly… I don't know. I mean, a guard's position, but… I don't really have training or… anything. I mean, I did lead the resistance band, but that was in the forest, and a group of men who used all sorts of things for weapons. I can't exactly hope for anything--"

Cain raised a hand to shut his son up. That was where the two were not alike at all. Jeb, when he was trying to make a point or ask for something, would ramble on in a train-of-thought fashion, while Cain would come out and say whatever it was he needed.

"Look, Jeb. I know you're good with a gun, I've seen you use one. After a basic training course overseen by one of the senior guards, I'd be more than happy to offer you a position in the castle."

--

"Evening, Jeb, isn't it?" The man greeting him looked a bit more like a mountain than a man, forcing Jeb to tilt his neck in order to actually look at him. "I'm Roderick, and I'll be your guard, instructor, trainer… whatever it is Cain's calling us these days."

"I believe he called it… senior guard."

"Ah. Well, let's begin then, shall we? I'm going to assume you know how to properly handle a gun…"

"Yeah, I do."

"Resistance leader, weren't you? I was in one of those bands..."

"Were you?"

The two men soon enough found something to bond over, discussing strategy and kicking Longcoats around more than shooting guns at the target itself. With the amount of shooting they'd gotten done, Roderick figured that Jeb knew enough to not waste any more time at the range. Of course, at least an hour a day was recommended to keep his aim up, but he passed that section of the training.

Roderick told him to report back at the same time tomorrow, just for another checkup, and then he would tell his father to give the kid a job.

--

Azkadellia was taking a walk in the gardens, trailed constantly by one of her own guards at a distance. They were always so silent, so focused on their duties, but she didn't seem to mind the silence as much as her sister did. There were moments, much like this one, when she would rather walk alone.

The older princess used the gardens as a sort of retreat from the overwhelming reality of the rest of life. She knew well enough that most of the O.Z. still had doubts about her possession, heck, she'd had them herself sometimes, late at night when the nightmares prevented her from getting to sleep. Long walks in the gardens seemed to help, when she could simply relax and think about her life now. She had her mother and father, and DG, even Cain, Raw and Glitch, all more than ready to stand up for her, protect her, be there for her, but she couldn't help but notice the glances from others in the halls. It was clear that the maids and even some of the guards did not trust the woman behind their back.

Her path this time took her past the shooting range, where she'd never really had a mind to go before, but her feet seemed to enjoy walking in that direction. There were rows of daisies there, and daises were what Azkadellia wanted that evening. Picking her way between the fence and building for the guns, she picked several of the flowers: just enough to make a small crown for her sister, whom she would be seeing shortly for dinner anyway.

A soft smile graced her face as she turned back to return to her guard, a small gust of wind plucking one of the daisies from her hands to blow it a short distance away.

"Oh…"

The flower blew away towards a young man walking out of the gun storage room, carrying one of them and looking throughly dirty. From what she'd seen of men firing guns, he'd probably been outside for at least an hour or two today alone. She could have sworn she'd seen him before, somewhere, but Azkadellia didn't stare at him for long enough to place a name before he picked up the flower, holding it out to her.

"Here." Once he spoke, it took several seconds of watching his face before recognition hit Azkadellia. Jeb Cain. He was holding out the flower in one hand and had a gun in the other. Something about the young man in combination with the weapon terrified her. Looking between the flower and his face for several seconds, she turned and fled. The circlet of daisies can still be without one flower anyway…

Azkadellia would probably not later admit it to herself, her guard, or even her sister, but Jeb had been in her nightmares several times before. Every time, he is dragged in by Zero, and every time the Longcoat slaughters him in front of her eyes. Then, the body moves, getting up and blaming Azkadellia for everything that the witch had ever ordered the Longcoats to do, everything that Azkadellia wanted to prevent, but could not. The resistance leader's body grabs a gun from the on-looking general, shooting her several times.

She'd been happy that he was away, fearing these silly dreams, but now that Jeb was back... She was already making plans to stay in her room as much as humanly possible, or at least as much as DG would allow her to.

Jeb watched her run off, up the stairs, into the castle, with a confused frown on his face. Her guard had followed her without much more than a shrug in his direction. Given he was the leader of a group trying to kill her only months earlier, he still thought it was rather strange for her to flee without a word. It wasn't as if he was going to jump on her and kill her at any second.

One of these days, he would make a point of getting her to stay, if only to say hello. He knew she wasn't possessed anymore, after all, and couldn't see the danger in trying to befriend the older princess. He'd written to DG several times while he was away, considering her a decent friend by now, asking about his father. He'd written to Cain too, but their relationship wasn't that close. Why couldn't he at least try to get to Az as well? She was a different woman, and he would have liked to stop thinking of her as the one who'd taken his life and torn it apart so many years ago.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Whee. I'm trying my hand at writing fan-fiction. Quick! Be proud of me!

Yeahh… There isn't enough Jeb and Azzy out there, so I has a writing for them. They're so damn cute.

Aren't they?

R&R appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

A week passed of Jeb training with Roderick, eventually following him on duty and helping him with basic things

A week passed of Jeb training with Roderick, eventually following him on duty and helping him with basic things. At the end of the week, Cain called Jeb to his office to assign him his own schedule, with his own place to guard and rounds to make. He was assigned the gardens, making rounds around a lake, down to the fountain, through the section where the roses bloomed through most of the afternoon, and into the night.

He'd never paused to notice the roses before, but on his watch, he had a few moments to brush his fingers down their velvet petals before continuing on the rounds. It was peaceful down in the gardens, a place where Jeb could enjoy the silence by himself. He couldn't imagine why it would need guarding, but his father placed him here, and he was glad to have something to do, whatever it was. Better than a desk job.

That night, as soon as his shift was over, he'd decided to go shoot some targets. The lights had already been extinguished on the range, forcing Jeb to first take the time out to walk out, turning enough of them on for him to see the straw man he was supposed to aim that.

Aim. Ready. Fire. Rinse. Repeat.

Several hours were passed in such a way, pumping out tons of metal into the straw until the nearest candle-lit lamp went out. He blew the others out, giving his gun a quick inspection and making a point of cleaning it first thing tomorrow morning. For once, he was tired, and it could wait.

Jeb realized he'd made the mistake of staying out past dark the moment he entered the castle through the only way he knew – the front doors. Inside, many of the lights were already extinguished aside from the candles lighting the view for the stray wanderer. He'd only been here for about a total of two weeks, if that, but then it had been light, he'd always had another man with him, or there had been servants in the halls to ask for directions. Now… Now there was nothing for him to do but try and find his way back to his rooms.

They were on the third floor… or was it the second…?

Well, damn. This was going to be a long night.

--

Azkadellia had gone to bed early with a favorite book and a candle to read it by. Her guard mentioned that staying up late would not do her already-tired self any good, but he couldn't exactly stop her. At night, rounds of guards paced each floor, but no one remained outside her room for more than several seconds. The most they could do was knock, but the risk of waking her was there as well… Sometimes she slept with the candle burning.

Tonight, Az curled up by the headboard, keeping the book of other world faerie tales on her lap and pausing to watch the flame dance in front of her, lost in thought. The story she'd paused on was about a princess finding her prince charming in the most unlikely place, a well, in the form of a frog. This one was her favorite, one that she could remember her father reading to DG and her when they were little, one that helped her fall asleep again after one of her nightmares.

He returned to the story, getting through the few pages ending in 'happy ever after' to find her eyes beginning to close. Placing the book face down, still open, by the candle on the nightstand, Azkadellia curled up on the bed. Hopefully there would be less nightmares, perhaps she would even dream of her own prince, come to rescue her from reality and whisk her off to an imaginary land…

--

Jeb was lost. The several guards he'd come across pointed him this way and that, sending up and down staircases, right and left at corners, around some walls and down a passage he could have sworn didn't exist yesterday. He'd asked the same pair of guards for directions at least twice, by the third time they laughed and shook their heads, believing him to be joking. If he would do anything tonight, he would find his room, or at least someone willing to take him to his room.

Judging by how high he was when he looked out the window, he believed himself to be on the third floor, but then again, he wasn't sure if this was right or not either. His father's office was here, as were his father's rooms, but that would add an unnecessary awkward feeling to his situation.

'_Excuse me, dad? Yeah, sorry to wake you up and all… but I was lost. What am I doing up here in the middle of the night? Trying to find my rooms, I'm actually returning from gun practice…'_ Yes. He could definitely see that turning out very well. He'd be lucky if he ever lived down the embarrassment, as Cain would likely tell DG, and DG would tell the rest of the kingdom.

As he turned around a corner, Jeb paused and frowned into the dimly lit corridor. He could have sworn he'd heard a scream from one of the rooms. No, it couldn't be. The guards would have flocked here in an instant if he'd been right, though it had been faint. Continuing on his way, he thought he'd heard it again, a little bit louder this time, closer.

Someone was definitely screaming.

A natural instinct forced Jeb to lift his gun, pointing into the darkness, and follow the sounds. At last pinpointing the door it was coming from, he knocked. The whimpering and soft noises of protest didn't subside. He knocked again, louder this time, but receiving a reaction no different from the first.

The idea that it may just be a nightmare didn't even hit him until he was already inside the dark room, his eyes adjusting to find a woman, completely alone, tossing and turning on the bed. Moments later, the long, dark hair gave her away as none other than Azkadellia.

Half of him wanted to turn away right here and leave her alone to deal with her dreams, she'd fled from him, after all, but the same instinct that drove him to open the door in the first place made him approach the bed, lowering the gun. Reaching out, he touched a hand to her shoulder, and she let out a strangled whimper. Jeb could hardly imagine what sort of nightmare she was having, he didn't want to know. His own dreams had been plagued with nightmares for a greater part of his teen years, often causing him to lose precious sleep that he got so little of anyway. He'd learned to put up blocks in his mind against emotion in his sleep, which prevented the worst of them. Apparently, she had not.

"Azkadellia, wake up. You're having a nightmare."

A soft, calm voice tore through the dark dream of Zero, Longcoats and mobats, freeing Azkadellia from the hold they had on her subconscious. Her brown eyes opened moments later, taking a few seconds to focus on the man beside her bed.

"Than--" The same sleepy eyes filled with horror as she recognized the man over her, and, more importantly, noticed the flash of the gun's steel. "Why'reyouhere?" She wasn't sure if she truly wanted an answer to that question.

He'd picked up enough from both her tone and the look in her eyes to pick up on the fear. The young woman was practically terrified, making Jeb put the gun back into his holster, and drop his hand, taking a step away from her. At least she didn't yell louder. If she had, the guard might have rushed in to blame Jeb for frightening her.

"You were having a nightmare… I just… came to wake you." He paused for a moment, quickly adding, "I'm sorry," just in case. Was it wrong to wake a princess from her sleep if she was obviously uncomfortable? Jeb didn't know the laws of this place, but back in the resistance camp, this would have been perfectly acceptable.

"Oh…" It didn't register. She knew she'd been having a bad dream, but could not imagine why Jeb Cain would be walking down her hallway to hear her in the middle of the night. On top of that, looking sweaty, disheveled and holding a gun. "Just go ahead and do it, then."

"Do… what…?"

"What you're here for."

"But… You're already awake," he pointed out, taking another half a step back. Was she often delusional at night as well? DG might have forgotten to mention that bit about her sister, though turning around now and leaving without another word seemed hopelessly rude.

"You came to kill me though, didn't you?" She was almost hopeful. Almost. Azkadellia didn't want to die, of course, but she blamed herself for every life she'd ruined during her reign under the control of the Sorceress, and Jeb had been one of those victims. He had all right to be angry, all right to want to kill her, and she would be powerless to stop him if he tried now.

Of course, she could kill him with a snap of her fingers, but that was a sorceress thing to do. Azkadellia did not want to touch any part of her magic, good or evil.

"N-no. Why would I?" That would explain the fear. "I was a bit lost… and heard you scream, so I came to see what was wrong. I was just waking you up..."

"You could kill me. After everything I've—she'd done to you." She would have understood.

"I wouldn't. It wasn't you, it was the witch. I understand that. I… I believe that." At least his father believed it therefore Jeb would as well. "I'm not going to hurt you."

She blinked up at him for a couple seconds in the dark, pulling the blankets tighter around her slender figure. He could pinpoint the disbelief fighting with the want to accept this explanation and end the fear, and part of him understood.

"I'll go now…"

"Wait." She held out a hand, then replaced at her side. "Thank you."

One of the patrolling guards chose that moment to walk past the still-open door and take a glance inside, automatically marching into the room.

"You. What are you doing in the elder princess' bedchambers in the middle of the night?"

Jeb cursed mentally, turning to face the larger man, but before he could speak a word, Azkadellia interrupted.

"I was having a nightmare, Crandall. It's all right. He just woke me up, and was leaving now." She still sounded terrified out of her mind, and while the guard looked dubiously in Jeb's direction, he accepted that explanation.

"It isn't proper for a random man to be in your bedchambers in the middle of the night--"

"My reputation barely exists as it is. Just show him back to his rooms." Azkadellia turned away, wrapping the covers around herself. She probably would not fall asleep again tonight, but it would be worth a try.

"C'mon then, who are you anyway?"

"Uh. Jeb, Jeb Cain. I'm a bit new to the castle…"


	3. Chapter 3

Azkadellia awoke long before anyone else in the castle, forced to light the candle once again to read by its light until it was late enough to go downstairs to breakfast. Her mind wasn't on the faerie tales when she opened to the Frog Prince once more, instead constantly drifting toward Jeb Cain, her sister, and, strangely enough, Wyatt Cain.

In all honesty, she'd expected to lose her life last night when Jeb stood by her bed, especially after the way she'd fled from him several days before. Truth was, Azkadellia had expected something else. She'd pictured the resistance leaders as burly men interested in one thing: killing her. After some time, she couldn't find the line between what she'd seen to be the truth and the tales the witch had spun in her mind for those annuals. For her, Jeb had been a complete surprise.

He didn't want to kill her, and he hadn't been joking about it.

--

Several hours later, Azkadellia's candle had burned down to a stub, her eyes were heavy with sleep once again, but she forced the covers off herself and crawled out of bed. DG would worry if Az missed breakfast more than once a week, like she had the morning before.

Well. Darn.

Her guard held the door to the kitchens open for her, and she nodded thanks, sitting down at the small table DG and Azkadellia claimed as their own over the past month in the corner of the room. The cooks had already brought out tons of baked goods, fried pastries and fruits, but Azkadellia sat down in the corner, touching no more than a strawberry to wait for DG. She was more tired than hungry anyway.

"Hey Az!" The younger princess was surprisingly a morning person. No, she was a day person in general. DG always appeared so happy and carefree to Azkadellia, so… more of what she would have liked to become someday.

"Morning."

"Hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long…"

"Oh, no, I just got here."

"Sleep well?"

Azkadellia let out a soft laugh at the question, finally reaching for a blueberry muffin. It felt early in the morning, though the time escaped her, and she could not stomach much else.

"Nightmare again, sis?" DG was already eating, forcing words between mouthfuls of croissant topped with strawberry jam. There was another thing Azkadellia loved about her sister. The other girl ate whatever she wanted, when she wanted, and never seemed to run out of appetite. DG had gained quite a few pounds in her time at the castle, and no one but the seamstresses had complained.

"Same one, actually." She looked down at the food, wondering when to bring up Jeb coming to rescue her from the nightmare. "Same one as always…"

He'd been a little of something she'd always wished to find. A prince to rescue her from all of her troubles and whisk her away from this life to be happy in another with him. The first part had happened, at least… As for the second part though? Ha! That was as likely as Wyatt Cain running DG through with a fork at dinner. Jeb couldn't be her prince charming; he didn't even know the first thing about her.

"Jeb came to wake me up this time, though."

"Jeb? Jeb Cain?" DG gave a small laugh, almost choking down her orange juice. "What was he doing up there in the middle of the night? His rooms are on the second floor…"

The way she drawled out the last sentence made Az raise an eyebrow at her. Then again, they were friends, judging by some of the letters DG had shown Az.

"I think he said something about being lost," Azkadellia shrugged, tearing off a piece of the muffin's crust to chew on. "I guess it was a welcome change from the guards, even if one of them did have to come in and drag Jeb away." She paused making a face. "'It isn't proper for a man to be in a princess' bedchambers in the middle of the night.' He was just being helpful…" And she'd thought he'd come to kill her.

"So… What'd you think of him?" She could practically see some gears whirring in DG's mind, though had no idea what the small smile on DG's face meant.

"He's… alright I guess. To be quite honest, I thought—I thought he was going to kill me when he woke me up…" Az looked away from her sister, back toward the muffin, picking at it. "He had a gun… and looked… I don't know, Deege. It was silly."

At that, DG did burst out laughing, letting some of the orange juice leak from between her clamped lips. Wiping her mouth with her sleeve, she turned a light shade of pink, looking over her sister as if expecting a 'just kidding.'

"Honestly? Oh, Az. It's alright," DG reached across the table to place her hand on her sister's, a smile broad on her face. "I mean, I can't see how you'd think _Jeb_ would hurt you, but… I mean… he's so… Jeb!"

"I know Deege, it's so silly, stupid even, but… I don't know. It's not like those guards are there for fun and giggles. People _could_ try to kill me, because of--" She broke off, remembering the past with a slightly haunted look on her face before wiping it off with another piece of muffin in her mouth.

"It's fine, Az, really. You two ought to be friends or something. I mean, Wyatt and I get along well enough half the time," she laughed again, pushing a plate of pancakes toward Az. "Have a pancake."

"Thanks sis," Az took one, picking at it with a fork, but clearly more eager to continue the conversation. "I'm just afraid of what he thinks of me, what everyone does."

"You are way too self conscious, relax, and live a little. It's not like you're getting married to the boy tomorrow or something."

"No, I'm not. You're right. Maybe it's a change for the better…"

--

Jeb Cain was up at dawn through force of habit. His stomach notified him of hunger, though his mind was much more intent on remaining in the warm bed. No such luck for a guard unless it was a major holiday or a rare day off. Besides, Jeb wanted to catch his father before Wyatt was so buried in work his own son had to wait several days for an appointment.

After grabbing a piece of fruit from one of tables set up in the guards' general dining room, Jeb hurried off to Cain's office, finding the older man already busy.

"What the hell do you mean, _they can't do it?_" Cain's voice rang down the hall, making Jeb pause for a moment to listen.

"The-they were busy, said something about sick leave or below their position or something, but we're short three guards down by the kitchens…" The other man sounded obviously nervous, perhaps even frightened of the angry tones Cain used.

"Are you their commanding officer or are you _not_? They will do what you tell them, when you tell them to, as long as the request is reasonable. This. Is reasonable. Now make it work."

"Yes sir." A resigned tone, and the other man practically bowled Jeb over on his way out of the office, giving him a surprised glance. Clearly he thought no one wanted to walk in on Cain when the man was in this mood.

Perhaps it wasn't for the best, but Jeb took his chances knocking on the door twice before letting himself in.

"What no—Oh, good morning Jeb." His father's tone hadn't changed much between the two, besides in how loud it was. "I guess you heard what just happened…"

"Uh, yeah."

"It's not above you to guard the kitchens for an extra several hours on top of your shift, is it? I'm sorry to have to ask, but those three idiots are begging to be fired, and we're short men right now. The gardens are just outside of them… So it's not too far, just a bit longer."

"No problem, dad. You're the head of security. Must know what you're doing." He'd hoped to bring a smile to his father's face with the comment and failed. Ah, well, at least he got to be closer to the castle around dinnertime; perhaps he could pick up a plate of food from the back entrance. All it did was increase his shift by a bit.

"What're you here for, anyway? You're up early."

"Habit. I thought I'd get a little riding done in the morning, for practice, but I kind of wanted to talk to you first."

"Oh? Not about your guard shift, is it?"

"No, I'm fine with that," his father let out a visible breath, relaxing a bit and putting down the papers he'd been clutching. "It's actually about Azkadellia… She dropped something," a flower, "and I'd picked it up for her, but she ran as if I'd tried to shoot her about a week ago. Last night, she actually thought I was going to kill her."

"Last night…?" Cain raised an eyebrow, listening to his son explain the story from beginning to end, and noticing how Jeb made sure nothing could be taken the wrong way.

"…I don't know how to convince her that I'm not planning to kill her. The thought never crossed my mind after the witch was destroyed."

"Just give her time and space, perhaps get to know her. She's a bright woman, she just needs to figure it out by herself."

"Right."

"It took DG a while to convince herself she loved me," Cain paused, studying the boy for a reaction, and receiving none, continued. "But she got it in the end, accepted it, I guess. Took me a while too. I'd say we're both happy now."

"I'm not talking about a relationship or anything," Jeb actually looked slightly frightened for a moment, and this time, Cain did smile. "Just, you know, friends. Like DG and I are."

"Right. Friends. Talk to her a bit and let her figure it out. If she doesn't have something against you, she'll stop freaking out eventually."

"Thanks." He paused for another moment before adding, "dad. So… Would you like to get breakfast or something?" Jeb had missed out on the father-son bonding for most of his time growing up, now he would have rather liked to catch up.

Cain glanced over his paper one last time, sighing at it. "Sure, son. Might as well, before this work completely takes over." He hated the desk part of this job.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

I thought this chapter was kind of boring, honestly, for the most part, or at least the Jeb/Cain interaction. Sorry about that.

And last chapter? It was based on a role play a friend and I did. It was spiffy back then, and it's spiffy rewritten in fanfic form too.


	4. Chapter 4

Jeb's new shift led him to the kitchens first, with several hours in the gardens later. After his long ride on one of the borrowed horses, he took a quick shower, and found his way down there with the help of a map his father had drawn for him.

Soon after, Jeb realized why going through the actual kitchens to get to the back door was not a bright idea on his part, though it was already too late to turn around and leave the other way. The time was just after lunch, and while he hadn't had time to eat, he still wasn't hungry after the breakfast he'd had with his father earlier. Of course, the castle's cooks never stopped cooking. After lunch, there was dinner to cook, after that, cleaning up, sleep, and breakfast early in the morning.

"Young man!" One of the heftier women in the kitchen hurried up to him, fixing her hat atop her head as she did so, and bearing a tray of pastries. "Oh, young man! Jeb Cain, isn't it?" She didn't give him a chance to do more than nod in agreement. "Your dear father mentioned you were coming, a nice man, a very nice man, just needs to get a little more healthy food into that system of his. I can see you take after him…" She stepped back, studying Jeb, and he stared back at her with surprise. "Here you go, then, eat up, eat up."

Before he could refuse, Jeb found the pastry brimming with cream already in his palm, taking a small bite of it. "Than-thanks." It was a good pasty, though overly sweet and surprising for Jeb. He wasn't normally a fan of too much sugar on his food, but putting the pastry down now seemed rude to him. "I… I do have to go to my shift now."

"I'll see you then, young man!" She'd put down the tray, and grinned broadly at him, patting him on the shoulder in a motherly fashion. "Feel free to come back for pastries whenever you like now, eat more, young man, eat more."

"Right. I will…" Taking another bite out of the newly gained treat, he returned the smile tentatively, heading out the door and past a couple of snickering guards.

--

After breakfast, both Az and DG went off to lessons. DG had to learn proper posture and bearing for a princess, Az went off to foreign relations: both classes sounded boring, though she'd much rather be in DG's place. At least learning how to walk and talk was _easy_.

Several minutes into the class, she'd already fallen asleep several times, and the man lecturing her began to complain about her attention span more than he was lecturing on relationships between Oz and Ev. To Az, they barely mattered. She knew enough basic history to get her through life, but DG was taking the throne, and DG should know all of these itty-bitty details a crazy historian decided to write down, Az did not.

The exasperated professor decided to let her go after only an hour of verbal torture, and off to a dance class she went. Dancing, compared to any other class at least, was always fun. Glitch spun her around the room for a few hours, making the woman almost forget that the rest of the world existed. It was relaxing, learning how to dance.

Finally, that hour passed as well, and after grabbing a bowl of fruit from the kitchens and a book from her rooms, Azkadellia made her way down to her favorite lake in the gardens. The entire place was surrounded by thousands of different flowers, several trees, and a swing facing the statue of an angel in the middle of the water. Oftentimes, if she dipped her fingers into the chilly lake, little fishes would come to swim around them beating their toothless lips at her skin and making her giggle.

With the sun up and shining brightly, Azkadellia chose the shaded swing beneath a particularly large oak tree, pausing to settle down and watch a couple squirrels chase each other across the lawn before opening the book on her lap. Every page, she would reach her hand down to the bowl of fruit, plucking the occasional grape or strawberry or piece of orange to draw it to her lips.

It was peaceful, calm, quiet; just the way Az loved it. No one bothered to go into the gardens in mid-afternoon aside from the several guards, and of course her own massive shadows, who stood several meters off now, watching the still air.

Az never understood how a guard's life worked. They always appeared interested in the surroundings, always alert of what was around them, and never seemed to get bored with the same scene, day by day. She tried to create variety for her guards by picking different parts of the garden to stroll through.

With the end of yet another tale in her book, Azkadellia got up, leaving both book and bowl of fruit on the swing to pick up later, she made up her mind to follow the rose bushes around, just for a little bit. Sitting down for so long, even with the interlude of a dance, made the woman restless, anxious for a little bit of fun.

Tossing her guard a smile without any returned expression, she picked her way through the grass, stopping in front of a particularly large, red rose to run her fingers along the velvety petals. It was so beautiful. This was what Az needed more of in her life: the simple beauty of joy. She had Deege, and her happiness, of course, but as selfish as it felt, she wanted her own. She wanted the life she'd dreamt of with DG when they were little children, she wanted someone to give her roses and tell her they loved her. What woman wouldn't?

Her mind flitted briefly back to walking in on Wyatt Cain holding out a bouquet of roses for DG. The look on her little sister's face was to die for, and locked in her memory forever. Pure, simple joy. Caught up in the memory, she hadn't noticed that she plucked the rose from it's stem and was holding it closer to her face than before, nor had she noticed a young man approach.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" Jeb approached Az, keeping in mind what his father had said and starting up a conversation just because. She looked quite picturesque, holding the flower up to her nose, and appearing quite lost in thought, and for a while, Jeb couldn't think of what to say, so he said the first thing that came to his mind.

Az whirled at the sound of the voice, her eyes opening wide and the memory of her father and sister fading. "Oh, oh yes…" It took a few seconds to calm down again, as she nodded and gave him a hesitant smile. "They are. Sorry, you startled me a bit. I didn't expect anyone else to be here at this time… I think I should leave, perhaps."

"I was assigned here, guard duty." Jeb shrugged, conscious of the gun he had at his side, and her gaze when it landed on it. "No, no, please. It was my fault, I interrupted your walk, don't leave. Go ahead, I'll be on my way, patrolling." He was just as uncertain in his words, picking them carefully around her.

"Goodness no, I couldn't… I mean… I don't know, I'm just…"

A question hung from his lips, and as much as he wanted to suppress it, it slipped anyway. "Azkadellia, why are you afraid of me?" The moment Jeb asked, he wanted to turn around and walk away, as it had come out sounding impertinent for his stature.

"I'm… I don't know, Jeb." She looked down, muttering his name barely audibly and glancing down at the rose she held cradled in her hands. "I really don't know. It's just that, I've always… I guess I've always expected someone… someone like you to come and kill me some day. Kill **her**, not be, but… you know…" The flower slipped through her fingers, Az watched it fall, not wanting to look up at him again.

Jeb promptly bent down and picked up the rose, holding it out to her. "I'm not going to hurt you. Not only would it be completely immoral, but I've got no grudge against you, Azkadellia. **She** was the one who destroyed my life, not you, you needn't be afraid of me."

Gingerly, Azkadellia took the rose, the memory of DG and Cain hovering close to the front of her mind once again, and a small, genuine smile spread across her face. "It's silly of me to be afraid. I know that. Really, I am sorry. I'll go on my walk then… and you continue on your guard duty, okay?" She glanced up at him, meeting the gaze, for once without fear, convinced the sincerity in his voice.

"All right," not exactly friends, but at least she wasn't terrified anymore. It was better than watching her run away once more. Jeb brushed a hand through his hair, watching Azkadellia walk away from him before turning to continue on his way.

Guard duty in the gardens was rather nice.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Jeb's a scrawny little thing! That kid needs to eat more.  
Jeb: I do not. I'm fine. I'm just not hungry often.  
Shut up and eat your pastries, kid. Honestly.  
Jeb: I'm older than _you_.  
What did I say? Don't make me sic the head cook on you.  
Jeb: Yes'm. .

Anyyywayy. I figured I should add a disclaimer or something somewhere, 'cos everyone's doing it. So I don't own these guys, I didn't own them in the past chapters, and I won't own them in the future ones either unless I come across a lot of money or win the lottery and _buy_ them. Which I would do. But I didn't yet. Because Lena is poor.

Thankoo to y'all for the reviews, keep reading, stay healthy, whatever it is you do.


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey, kid." One of the guards at the door out of the kitchens tapped him on the shoulder, holding up a note in his direction. "Your dad stopped by, asked me to give this to you when your shift's done."

"Oh, thanks…" Jeb nodded, taking the note and pausing in the middle of the hallway to unfold it and read.

_Jeb, meet myself and the Gales in the main dining room at seven tonight for dinner. DG's orders, and I dare not refuse, lest the little thing gets snarky with me. I wouldn't think of skipping it, DG might have your hide, or mine._

_Try to not be late, _

_Wyatt Cain._

Well, that was a nice little invitation he had there. At least it wasn't his father threatening him, it was DG, though indirectly, and he did get to have dinner with the royalty. Jeb wondered if there was some specific way he should dress, being with Queen Lavender and the Consort, as well as probably two princesses and his father. He wouldn't, owning no formal wear, and hope nothing went wrong.

There were still several hours until seven, and nothing to do but wonder why DG would possibly want Jeb attending one of their family dinners. His father, he could understand, as they were engaged, and Cain was practically family, but Jeb? Shrugging, the young man wandered off to his rooms to shower once again, and find something that wasn't his uniform to wear.

--

By seven, Jeb was sitting next to his father, and across from Azkadellia, in a white cotton shirt and the pair of brown pants that came along with the uniform. Overall, dinner conversation began with DG muttering things to Cain every so often, and Cain giving her a reproachful look, as well as Ahamo and Lavender speaking quietly to each other and Azkadellia picking at her place quietly, though not eating much.

Finally, DG broke the awkward tension that was obvious at the table. "So…" She glanced around the room, then at each person around the table in turn. "It's nice having dinner like this, I think. The whole family…"

"I'm technically not family yet…" Jeb managed to state, only to have Cain look down at him slightly.

"You're my son--"

"And technically my step son." DG leaned on the table to look over at Jeb, who suddenly found the peas very, very interesting. "How old are you, anyway?"

"Twenty five."

"…My step son who is a year older than me." She giggled softly, turning to look across the table at her mother and placing a piece of potato in her mouth. "This is a bit odd, isn't it?"

"Whatever your heart tells you, DG." Lavender's voice surprised Jeb. He'd almost expected a loud, confident queen, but the woman seemed a lot more intent to speak with her own husband than her daughters or son-in-law. "It's never wrong."

Azkadellia finally looked up, her eyes meeting DG's across the table, as she exchanged some sort of knowing gaze with her sister, and rolled her eyes. "Why did you invite Jeb?" She inquired, a faint blush coloring her cheeks when she did.

"Azkade--" Lavender began, getting cut off by her younger daughter before she could say much else.

"I wanted to, Az. He's family now, isn't he? He can eat with us." She grinned mischievously at her sister, sticking out her tongue. "Anyway, why not?"

"I… I don't know… I mean…" She shook her head, burying her attention in the dinner, which was for the most part uneaten.

"Azkadellia, if you'd rather I leave, I will…" Jeb looked across at her with a small smile, trying his best at an understanding gaze, though having no idea what she could possibly have against him.

"No! I mean, no… it's all right. She's right. You are family."

"Sure?"

DG giggled before her sister could answer that, increasing the blush on Azkadellia's face.

"Could I be excused?" There were tears in her eyes that she tried to hide, but her voice made them obvious. Without waiting for an answer, Az left the room, leaving the rest of the table quite confused.

Another awkward silence spread across the table where Lavender looked at DG, DG glanced toward her fiancé, who looked toward his son, who was watching the open door, and Ahamo simply glanced between his wife and daughter, rather lost. No one particularly knew what was wrong with Azkadellia, but no one followed her either, for fear of making it worse through misunderstanding.

"Was it something I said?" DG asked the air that was occupied by her sister a few minutes ago, and Cain shrugged.

"She's been a little bit off for a bit."

"Azkadellia was a strong girl, she's a strong woman now. Whatever is bothering her, if we give her time, she will figure it out or ask for help if she cannot," Lavender assured the table, looking worriedly in the direction of the door, then at her husband. "Give her time."

DG rolled her eyes, Cain looked at her reproachfully and Jeb let out a soft sigh.

"I don't think I'm all that hungry. Uhh… Thanks for dinner, and all. I'm going to have to be excused. Enjoy your dinner, dad, DG, uhh… Queen Lavender and Consort." With a nod to each member of his suddenly too-big family, Jeb followed Az's recent footsteps out the door, off to his own room. That dinner was far from successful.

--

Az didn't go to her room, as she would have assumed them to think. Instead, she went out to the gardens, pulling her feet beneath her to sit rather comfortably on the swing and stare off into the darkening distance.

"What's wrong with me?" The question was largely to herself, though her guard approached at it, standing by the swing.

"It's natural to be afraid of him, but you're actions are bordering irrational, if I am be so bold, princess."

"Call me Az, I told you that before…" More familiarity between her guards and herself made her feel less like a precious little jewel to be guarded at all times and more like a human being. "I don't know what it is about him. It's like, every time I see him, something snaps inside of me, and I get completely overwhelmed with emotion."

"If you as me, I would guess at an attraction…"

"What? No. I was terrified of him a couple nights ago. I don't even know him. I'm not attracted to him."

"No, perhaps not. I may be wrong."

Azkadellia remained silent, hugging her knees now, and letting the cool breeze play with her hair. The guard moved away, standing not too far away to watch her. She was too caught up in her own faerie tales sometimes, and when reality managed to break through, it hit her so hard she had no idea what to do about it. Now was definitely one of those moments.

The glisten of tears in her eyes was obvious, even in the dimming light, but it was better to let her cry. She'd figure it out on her own. She had to.

* * *

**Author's Note:** This one's all short... There wasn't much to say, but Az realized something pretty important, I think.  
Heheheh. Yay for guards who seem to know what they're talking about, and have been watching Az for long enough to _know these things_ like some sort of creepy stalkers. Woo.

Anyway. Yeah.

And if anyone's still here, reviews are nice. Lena likes them. Yes?


	6. Chapter 6

For a week after the dinner, Jeb and Azkadellia exchanged no more than cautious nods in the gardens, where she walked one way and he walked another, both with different intentions.

Jeb couldn't have been happier for his monthly day off to roll around. For a day, he didn't have to watch Az lower her gaze when she passed, or go out of her way to allow him to walk his rounds around the garden. More than once during the week, he'd wanted to ask Cain for a switch, but the gardens were convenient with the kitchens. On top of that, 'because I make the princess uncomfortable' was really not a good reason to switch shifts with someone else.

Instead of spending time training or around the palace with loved ones, like some of the other guards had, Jeb decided to take his horse out to the cliffs beyond the orchard for a little ride.

Saddling and bridling alone was a royal pain in the ass with Albatross, his horse, but taking the stallion out without having him take off proved to be a challenge as well. Jeb lost his grip on the reins halfway out of the stables, and ended up having to follow the large, white thing for at least half a mile before he returned, looking sheepish and strangely pleased with himself.

Albatross allowed Jeb to get on before pawing at the ground and pulling against the reins once again. It really had been too long since Jeb took him out, judging by the horse's excitement, and Jeb made a mental note of never neglecting him for longer than a day again.

With a small nudge, the stallion was already galloping off, and Jeb did his best to find his balance and steer the large thing in the right direction. Hopefully he would be smart enough to not gallop exactly like this off the cliff.

--

Azkadellia was not aware of Jeb's day off in the morning when she packed up a picnic, took her new, auburn mare, and went out for a quiet ride. Her guard rode behind her, once more at the sort of distance where you could hear the horse hooves, and he could see her, yet he wasn't really _with_ her. Nonetheless, the picnic had been for two.

Her mare carried her at a calm trot through the orchards, up to a particularly mountainous region behind them. Along the way, several Papay accompanied her, making their strange noises and forcing a smile from the woman. They were rather cute, in their own way, and she couldn't help but stop to give them a treat or two from the trees.

Once she got to her chosen spot, Azkadellia dismounted, letting her mare wander. Karida wouldn't go off too far, and if she did, her guard would bring her back to the fresh grass in the meadow. Az chose one of the rocks, settling her basket next to her and picking out several grapes, popping them into her mouth.

It was beautiful up here, and on a clear day, she could see down to the bottom of the canyon, to the raging river below. For a moment, she wondered what it would be like to be a large bird of prey, falling down to the very bottom for a rabbit of a fish only to catch yourself just before you hit the ground, or the water. The free fall would have been something to experience, it must be.

She sat down on the rock, popping another grape into her mouth and letting it sit there. If she weren't terrified, she would have liked to dive into that river from here. After all, DG and Cain and Glitch and Raw had, and they were still alive and well today. It must have been a wonderful and terrifying experience.

--

His horse whinnied loudly, and to Jeb's surprise, he thought he'd heard a returned whinny answer from somewhere not too far away. Albatross, deciding that whatever Jeb said was not important enough, took off in that direction, leaving the young man hanging on. He was all right with the speed, the wind in his face, but not the lack of control, though yanking on the reins now only led the horse to gallop faster and faster.

The answering whinny rang again, and this time, Albatross waited until he was in the meadow before stopping, rearing, and cantering quite calmly toward the mare. Of course in the process, Jeb ended up slipping off the horse, and lay back in the grass, taking a deep breath. At least he was off the damn thing, and he could gallop circles around the world now, and Jeb wouldn't give a damn for him. Someday, Albatross would kill him.

Azkadellia, startled by the horses' whinnies, brought herself to her feet, picking her way through the rocks and back to the meadow where the horses were. She was surprised to see a large white stallion prancing circles around Karida, and even more surprised to find Jeb lying in the grass, looking a bit dazed.

"Jeb!" She called out before she had time to process the events, rushing up to him, afraid that he was hurt, though if he were, surely her guard would have reacted in some way. "Are you alright, what happened?"

The young man let out a soft grunt, turning his head to look over at her. "Oh, Azkadellia…" He was actually quite surprised to see her running up to him like that, instead of running away. "Good morning, or is it early afternoon? My dear Albatross decided to toss me here to frolic with your pony instead." A soft laugh followed his comment, and he briefly closed his eyes against the sunlight before pushing himself up with one hand. "I'm fine though, nothing's broken." Thank god for soft grass, ground, and whatever else these cliffs were made of.

By the time he sat up, Az was already sitting by his side; one hand touched his shoulder briefly, and then pulled away as if he'd burned her on contact. "Oh, good." She cast a nervous smile down toward the grass, and then toward their horses, which appeared quite happy grazing in the near distance. "If you're sure you aren't hurt… I brought a picnic out here…" She glanced up at him, chewing on the inside of her lip nervously. "Would you c-care to join... join me?"

"Sure." He gave her a smile, forcing himself to get up and rubbing his lower back, where he'd taken the primary force of the fall. "I'd like that." The fact that she wasn't fleeing from him, or terrified of him, was better than the invitation itself. Az seemed to finally be able to talk to Jeb.

She led the way back to the cliffs, and after an awkward half an hour, Jeb and Azkadellia were chatting pleasantly about the surroundings, life in the castle, and even life before the witch was destroyed by DG.

"It was different then, really different. We believed you to be some sort of devil, but most of us don't know."

"You… you don't?" She was asking about him, specifically, and masking the question under you, as a general resistance population.

"No, most of the resistance doesn't. And I don't either." He fell for it. Jeb gave her a gentle smile, picking up a piece of toast to chew on between their conversation bits and pieces. "You didn't do any of those things, it had been **her**. We can't fairly blame you for a single thing."

"I guess you've got a point there." Throughout the conversation, Az had relaxed significantly, laughing and smiling easier around him, and even eating a bit more than she normally would have. "I've been silly, haven't I? Avoiding you, and a number of other people, for silly reasons?"

"If you'd excuse me saying so, but yes, you really have." Jeb still didn't understand her. She'd admitted to being silly before, but she'd never really done anything about it.

Az let out a little laugh, waving him off. "Formalities. You're allowed to say whatever you want, there's no law against it unless you're directly threatening mother or father."

"Oh, right."

"Tell me more about the resistance… camp life…" She was oddly interested in it, and he seemed only eager to talk about it. Az wanted to know what it would have been life for them, how difficult life had been, and if she could do anything at all to help what was left of the resistance now. Surely they must want some sort of compensation for every bit of harm she'd ever done.

"Well, there isn't much more to say really."

"Tell me about when you became the leader, then."

"I was fifteen, and the previous leader's personal… assistant, you could say…"

Jeb broke into the story, leaving Azkadellia to nod with interest and make soft noises at all the right moments. It was this sort of simply interaction that created the beginnings of a bond between them, a real bond, more than just 'oh, hello, I'm going to leave now' as they had been before.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Az is not suicidal, she just wants to learn how to fly. -nods-  
I have no idea where that thought came from, but it seemed like an Az thing to do...

At _PenguinGoddess _- That's a good question there. Maybe it's because they're not exactly close... or Cain's just got a bad habit of signing his name... or Jeb's got a secret other father lying around...  
Jeb: Shut up while you're ahead, Lena. It's actually because dad's just like that. Maybe he thinks I forgot his name...  
You would.

Err... Yes. :D I'm not a crazy.

At _T-G_ - aka Lyc - Yay for reviewing every chapter. :D  
More o' ye should follow that there example, I like reviews. They make me feel loved.

At _D - _But Cain's note is _Cain's_ bad nitpicky language things. Also: gimme my copy of Tin Man back plz?

Why yes, I did mostly type this up here for a longer Author's Note. It looked small and lonely being only a paragraph long. :P


	7. Chapter 7

Az awoke the next morning, surprised to find herself feeling well rested. She hadn't had a night when she wasn't plagued by nightmares in so long… since her childhood, but last night? Last night she'd slept like she'd been killed. It was strange, different, and certainly very well welcomed. Perhaps she'd simply tired herself out the night before.

Hurrying down to breakfast, her stomach complaining about the lack of lunch and a scanty dinner, Az arrived at the kitchens to nearly bowl over her sister, who was about to open the door.

"Az! Nice to see _you_ up and about. You disappeared on me yesterday, couldn't find you anywhere, they told me you went out riding and came back with _Jeb_ though…" DG smirked up at her sister, opening the door into the hustle and bustle of the kitchen, and letting them both in.

For a moment, Az paused to stare incredulously at her sister. It couldn't have somehow been _her_ fault that Jeb had fallen off his horse near her, had it? It couldn't have been. As powerful, and mischievous, as the younger princess was, even she couldn't tell a horse what to do, and then make him do it, especially not a horse like Albatross.

"Oh, well. I wanted a little ride," DG giggled, "by _myself_. Just a picnic in the woods," DG giggled again, and Az raised an eyebrow. "Is something I said somehow funny?"

"No, not at all, do continue." Gods, her mind was not behaving this morning. Perhaps it was the aftereffects of last night, when Cain decided to pay a little visit, and only got the chance to leave this morning. "It's just an interesting story."

"Um. Right…" Az sat down at their table, her sister followed suit, reaching for one of the pastries hungrily. "Well I was alone, with my guards of course, letting Karida graze, when his horse decided to toss him and greet mine rather enthusiastically. I helped him up, and we talked a bit, you know." That's all that had happened.

"Oh?" DG still looked a little too excited. "Is that all that happened? Really?"

"Yes, Deege. Was something else supposed to happen?" She put the pastry down, looking at her sister sternly.

"No, no. I was just curious. So, what'd you think?"

"Of?"

"The weather Azkadee, _Jeb_ of course!"

"Well, he's nice… I guess, very nice. There was a lot I didn't know about him…" A faint blush spread across Azkadellia's cheeks as she spoke, smiling down at her pastry.

DG giggled once again, grinning from ear to ear. "I knew it. I win. I'm going to have to tell Cain I win."

"Win?" Az's voice was filled with astonishment and the blush spread. "Win what? What'd you know, Deege? I haven't said anything you didn't know before…"

"That blush… Oh, come on Az, it's practically obvious to everyone but you. I'm your sister, I'm not blind."

"What?" The blush was giving her away, and she pulled her legs up to her chest on the chair, balancing with a little difficulty. "Oh, fine… Deege, I have no idea what you win, but you're probably right. He's so… He's just so… Oh, I don't know how to describe it. He's so Jeb. He's perfect. For those hours we talked, I felt like I was a human being or something. As if I was perfectly normal. We laughed, we talked about his life and mine before… well, you know. We were friends. He… he touched my hand slightly, once; I think it was an accident, but it sent this shock through me. It was like, some realization."

"Oh, Az! I knew it!"

"So, what did you win?"

"Cain and I… well, I told him you're falling for his son, and he didn't believe me. We made a bet."

"You're already betting on my love life? What's the prize? At least it should be something good…"

"You'll see in a few days, a week at most, when I get lost on my way to breakfast and need to be spoon fed," she winked to reiterate her point, and both girls broke into giggles.

"Good enough, for you, I guess. Deege, one more question though. How do I know how _he_ feels?"

"You ask?" She said it like it was the obvious thing to do.

"I can't do that!" The old look of fear spread across her face as she pulled her knees closer to her chest. "What if he doesn't feel the same way… or he thinks I'm a freak of some sort… or something…"

"Look, he didn't sit there, talking to you, for hours because he hated you, Az. Take a chance, live your life." She got up from the table, picking one of the lollypops and sticking it in her mouth. "I'm going to go tell Cain!" And watching her sister practically skip out of the kitchens, Az made up her mind to take initiative and do something…

--

That morning, Jeb Cain beat his father to his office, all too eager to talk to him. The conversation with Az had opened his eyes about the woman. They hadn't really sat down to speak before.

Before, he'd considered her and the witch one merged persona. There hadn't been a clear split between the cruel bitch he'd grown to hate and the woman he'd met yesterday. Her calm, slightly air-headed attitude surprised Jeb, especially when she stated she'd like to fly after a long moment of silence. She wanted to be free of her ties to the past and the negative image everyone had of her face.

He'd brushed by her hand, and something almost electric had happened between them. They ended up laughing more than he'd laughed in so many years.

Azkadellia was one surprise after another, and Jeb was not willing to take no for an answer. He wanted to know more about her, explore more of that personality the sorceress had hidden away all those annuals. It had developed all on its own in the back of her mind, and now it wanted to get out into the world.

Jeb sat down in the chair in front of his father's desk, pulling out a small penknife and a barely touched block of wood. He'd started the carving the night before: a woman holding a bouquet of roses.

After he managed to get the basic form down, the door opened, and the small craft was quickly put away along with the knife.

"Dad!"

"Jeb? What are you doing here? …Especially before me." Cain was still not one hundred percent used to the concept of having his son back, and certainly not to the fact that he might come to a man he had not seen for fifteen annuals for advice.

"I need some help," Jeb began, summarizing the story of what had happened the day before. "…So, in short, I don't know what to feel."

His father let out a soft groan, closing his eyes and sitting back in his chair behind the desk. Relationship advice. Well, there was no time like the present to get a little father-son bonding in, right? This was the sort of thing he wished he'd been around for when Jeb was in his teen years. Instead, Cain was locked in a tin can, and his son was helping lead the resistance forces against the Longcoats.

"Son, I can't tell you what to feel, but by the sound of it… you two need to spend a little more time getting to know each other." Jeb was about ten years late with this puppy-love concept he seemed to have stumbled into. "Look, talk to her, maybe, see what she's really like, find out more about her. Get to know the girl and see what your heart tells you."

Jeb nodded slowly at the advice, biting down on the inside of his lower lip before looking up at his dad to meet his eyes. "Dad, what does love feel like?"

"Well, uh…" Definitely long overdue conversation. Cain leaned his elbows on the desk, rubbing his eyes once again and running a hand through his hair before answering. This reminded him of the time Jeb demanded to be told where babies come from, then asked the strangest questions about sex for a number of days. Then, he'd been ten, now, he was in his twenties. "It's hard to explain. I'd call it a feeling… When you can look into her eyes and know, I mean one hundred percent know, that you want to spend the rest of your life with her, you can see her with your child in her arms, you can see growing old together." That described his relationship with Adora, and it certainly portrayed the one with DG as well.

"Right…" Jeb got up, moving toward the door, then changing his mind and going back to the desk. "Do you believe in love at first sight?"

"No. It's probably possible, but so rare it isn't worth mentioning. You have to know the person… know them well."

"Okay." It was rare, not impossible, and that kept Jeb's hopes up. "I really like her, dad, and I barely know her."

"Get to know her, kid, she might be more than you think."

"She's already good enough for me, if not too good."

"I can't really give you any more advice. Get to know her, see what she thinks, see where life takes you…" Cain just didn't know enough about his son to say more. For all he knew, the courting tactics he'd used with DG would turn Az away.

"Thanks dad, it helps, really."

As the door closed behind him, Jeb Cain realized that if he took one thing away from that conversation, it was to trust your heart. Even in a new situation like this, it had to be right. He wanted to say something to Azkadellia, but he had to be careful with his choice of words.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Dear all of the two of you who still care about this story...  
Oh my god, I'm sorry I haven't updated in forever!

I promise I have not abandoned the story and will go back to more regular updates now.


	8. Chapter 8

Several weeks were spent with Jeb and Az casting glances at each other from across the garden walls and exchanging small smile

A week was spent with Jeb and Az casting glances at each other from across the garden walls and exchanging small smiles across the room when they happened to run into each other. If anyone else suspected anything between the two besides DG and Cain, they didn't say a word. Both man and woman were too terrified of how the other might respond to say a word about their feelings. There was no one to give them that one prod in the right direction.

DG and Cain seemed to have disappeared off of the face of the earth for that week. Once they managed to reappear one day around lunch, both looked extraordinarily pleased. Besides their slightly funny walk, they announced the main reason for their joy that afternoon, with the whole family together.

It came as a bit of a surprise. DG was lost in a bowl of cereal, Cain was busy with a paper, and her parents were muttering softly to each other, Azkadellia was fiddling with jam and toast, and Jeb, who'd made a point of appearing at family meals, was lost in thought.

"We're getting married," DG announced, looking around the table to meet the startled eyes. "Cain and I."

"You are?" Ahamo was the first to speak, studying his daughter carefully. "I can't say it's unexpected."

Her mother smiled from beside her husband, approval on her face. "Wyatt Cain is a good man. I am happy for you two."

It hit Az and Jeb last as they exchanged glances, then cast a similar, slightly frightened look toward the newly engaged couple. "You're getting married? Congratulations!" Az had been the one to speak, placing a truly happy smile on her face. Jeb nodded in agreement.

This made Jeb Az's brother-in-law, either that or it made her his aunt. Basically, it complicated any hopes of their relationship now. Great.

"If you are certain, I believe a ball is in order to announce your engagement to the Outer Zone, DG." Lavender stood, walking around the table to place a hand on DG's shoulder. "We have a lot to plan."

DG's eyes lit up, and Cain's fell.

"A ball? Oh mother, I'm not ready for a ball…" Nonetheless, parties were exciting, and if DG could have her way, this one would be as well. "As long as you promise me one thing…"

"What is that, my angel?"

"I get to plan it."

Cain sighed dramatically, forcing DG to turn to look at him. "What?'

"Nothing. I didn't say anything…"

"Right." She turned back to her mother. "So, can I?"

"Of course, DG, as long as it is under the regulations for a ball…"

DG rolled her eyes.

--

The ball was scheduled for a week from that evening and the royal family got started on writing out invitations. As per tradition, every one was hand written and sent specially to the receiving family. Every bit of nobility was invited.

Azkadellia spent her whole morning penning the same words on too many cards to count, adressing each one to a different noble family. It was the sort of work the women were forced to do only because the men could not quite replicate the beautiful cursive letters in gold ink well enough. Her father had tried to help her earlier. She'd needed to rewrite sixteen invitations because of him.

As afternoon rolled around, the older princess put down the quill, stretched and announced that she was going outside before her head exploded. DG and Lavender didn't argue. DG herself had taken a break to lie back and complain loudly only a few hours before, and their mother was too determined to give up on the labor, although they had no doubt the names ran together in her mind too.

Stopping by her room to grab a novel, Azkadellia picked her favorite swing by the lake. Not only did it provide a clam, peaceful place to read, but also if Jeb were on duty and doing rounds, she would at least get to see him today. He would pass by, just like he did every day, and they would exchange a nod or a smile. Then he would continue on his rounds as Az watched him disappear between the hedges.

They couldn't have a relationship now, could they? It would be too awkward, especially with her sister and his father…

Jeb hadn't expected to see Azkadellia today. She had enough to do with the upcoming ball for her sister that he couldn't imagine she would take a few hours off to walk in the gardens. Although he was surprised to see her sitting in that swing, legs tucked up under her, lost in a book, it was a welcome sight.

The mental argument began just as soon. He could approach; he could probably even stop to chat a little bit without infringing on his pacing around the gardens, or he could continue with a simple nod, as he had every day before today. Something made him pick option number one. Jeb needed to know what she thought of DG and his father, especially of the fact that his father was probably old enough to be _her_ father as well.

Az lowered her gaze the moment she noticed Jeb watching her. He hadn't seen her all too captivated gaze, had he? Their eyes had met for all of several seconds before she looked away. For all he knew, she'd just looked up. She didn't get much longer to think panicked thoughts before Jeb spoke.

"Afternoon, princess. Taking a break from all those invitations?"

"Oh, yes. The tediousness gets to your head after a while, you know?" She couldn't help but look up and smile at him. There was something about Jeb that brought the smile to her face, even if it was simply being around him.

"Can't say I've ever made thousands of invitations to a ball before…"

"It's not too much fun," she agreed, looking around for something else to say. Az certainly hadn't come out here to talk about how boring it was to fill out invitations. "So…"

On to plan B. It didn't matter what she thought of DG and Cain, or what it meant for their relationship. Jeb had promised himself somewhere after leaving his father's office that he would _do_ something about his feelings for Az. They might've been mostly spontaneous, but he wanted to get to know her more, and he certainly still did, no matter what her sister and his father were doing in their spare time.

"Would you like to go to the ball with me?"

Disbelief. Pure. Simple. Disbelief. Did he just ask if he could accompany her to the ball? Yes, yes he had. Az's breath caught in her throat for a few moments as she simply stared at those blue eyes of his, her mind working at words and her mouth not listening.

Silence. Jeb didn't like the sound of it. It was too hard to interpret, especially with the shocked expression on her face. Yes, Az was a princess, and he was barely a guard, but…

"So, I guess that's a no." Turning away, Jeb made to leave. He barely got a few paces away before Az was already grabbing his hand.

"No! Wait. I'd love to, I mean… I'm sorry. I just didn't expect you to… I'd love to." She sounded out of breath, smiling up at him.

"Great." The smile turned to his face too, and Jeb let her hold unto his hand. She felt cold to the touch. He couldn't resist placing one hand on her cheek and looking into those dark chocolate eyes.

One of her guards was at their side in practically seconds, letting out a cough. "I believe Sergeant Cain is due to continue his patrol of the gardens."

Az turned to her guard, giving him an annoyed glare. "Don't let me keep you from your job, Jeb." Leaning up, she pressed a kiss to his cheek and walked back to her swing.

Jeb stood rooted for a few more seconds before giving the air in front of him several nods, sparing Az one last look and a small wave.

"I'll… see you later, then. Az."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Um. I don't have much to say about this chapter except that these two are the cutest thing ever. :D Yes?  
Thankoo for all them reviews for the last chapter, all of you. 3


	9. Chapter 9

Preparations were still not one hundred percent done as the night of the ball came upon the royal family. Of course, everyone's outfits had been fitted and made by the best seamstresses, the cooks had been toiling in the kitchens since before dawn to create a feast, and Glitch, armed with a large group of page boys was decorating the ballroom. Nonetheless, there was always more to be done. The ribbon of DG's dress wasn't perfectly straight, Jeb kept complaining his tie was too tight, and Queen Lavender was completely overwhelmed by everything in general. She'd been a major part of the planning, but when it came to doing, Lavender's magic really was much too weak for more than lifting a few of the sparkling candles into the air to float above the ballroom.

It truly was beautiful.

DG had attempted to make the dance as casual as possible, finally getting out of wearing a full ballroom gown and slipping into a comfortable, although still quite formal dress. A periwinkle blue in color, it reached down to the ground and spread around her feet in a small circle. Teasingly, she told Cain that if he stepped on her dress while dancing with her, she would have to call off the engagement. He'd been a little too busy attempting to make her pull on a shawl, because apparently, a low-cut dress that draped off her shoulders was anything but appropriate. It had sleeves - that was her excuse. Cain had been forced to match her color choice with a periwinkle tie. He hadn't been too happy about that.

Azkadellia, on the other hand, had chosen her dress based on simplicity and the low-cut neckline. She wasn't the sorceress anymore. Az would not wear the fancy dresses the sorceress had, nor did she have the mobat tattoos on her chest, which she proudly showed off. Her dress was similar to her sister's, minus the trail of cloth on the floor as long as she had her heels on. It was split down the back to reveal most of that too. See, guests? Az was mobat-free. Jeb, as Azkadellia's escort, wore a matching red tie.

Jeb and Cain were both horribly uncomfortable in their suits. The two men were used to the freedom of whatever they could find to put on that morning, or at least a guard uniform, which, while starched, was not uncomfortably so. These suits were chocking, hard to move in, and generally uncomfortable, but what the two men would not do for their girls…

Lavender was dressed in a rich purple gown with a matching Ahamo at her side.

Now, standing behind the double doors into the ballroom, the royal family was arranged by order of who was going in first. As soon as the guests were quiet, they would be announced: first, the Queen and Ahamo, then DG and Cain, and finally Az and Jeb. After that, the guests would be expected to applaud, and Lavender would silence everyone again to announce the engagement of her younger daughter. Then, there would be dancing.

The doors opened to reveal a massive crowd of people and Jeb realized he did not like balls. Crowds of people were almost sure security breaches. Although, with Zero secured and most of the Longcoats hanged, there was little to fear, but the guard in Jeb couldn't help but stir. He didn't even have his gun if something happened.

On top of all of that, Jeb was not comfortable in crowds. His resistance group had been twenty, sometimes thirty people, with a maximum of forty-five on a particularly lucky year. This crowd? It was literally thousands of people whom Jeb did not even know the name of. As the escort of Princess Azkadellia, he would no doubt be expected to meet at least some of them.

A loud, booming voice of one of the heralds startled him out of his worries with his announcement. Az poked him in the ribs at the same time, giving him a coy smile. "Excited?"

"Terrified." Might as well be honest.

"I'll take that as a yes, then," she gave a small laugh as Cain and her sister stepped forward.

"Finally, announcing Princess Azkadellia Gale and her escort, Sergeant and ex-resistance leader Jebbidiah Cain."

Well, weren't they formal? Now all of those thousands of people knew who he was. A soft whisper spread through the crowd, though all eyes were on the couple that stepped forward. A resistance leader accompanied the woman whom everyone had known as the sorceress!

Az threaded her fingers between Jeb's, giving him a small tug, and he let her guide him down the stairs, eyes on the crowd of people around them. Once they came to stand beside the rest of the royal family, some man near the front began with a clap, and the applause spread and grew to fill the room.

Lavender raised one hand, calmly waiting for the room to fall silent before beginning with the official announcement for tonight. "Ladies and gentlemen of many countries near and far from our land of the Outer Zone. Tonight, I am pleased to announce the engagement of my youngest daughter, Dorothy Gale, to the Captain of the Guard, Wyatt Cain." She finished with a small smile. The uproar of the applause and chatter between the guests fluttered to a new peak and the ball had officially begun.

--

The moment the orchestra began the first waltz; Azkadellia pulled Jeb out unto the floor.

"You can dance, can't you?"

Now would be a bad time to mention he hadn't danced since he was eight or nine, back with his mother. "I learned… though I haven't for a long time…"

"It's like riding a horse," Az assured him, placing one hand in his and the other on his shoulder. "If you learned once, you'll never forget it, you just need to get back into the rhythm." If he stepped on her toes, she'd send him off to dance with Glitch. That man could make a pair of Papay perform a flawless tango.

"I apologize in advance for anything I might do."

"Come on, silly. You try leading so we're not in the way."

Jeb rested his hand on her waist, holding unto her other one as he took the first step, leading Az in the waltz and taking care to avoid running into other couples. Surprisingly, she'd been right. While it wasn't exactly like riding a horse, the waltz was an easy dance, and the orchestra's tune had a clear beat to it.

Maybe balls weren't so bad after all.

--

DG led Cain straight to one of the tables, picking up a glass of wine from one of the waiters along the way. Cain frowned at her, standing by her chair. She should've started that first dance. This whole ball was in the honor of her – well, and his – engagement, after all.

"Come on, Princess. One dance."

"Don't call me that, Cain. I can barely stay on a horse, what makes you think I can dance…"

"I'll take the chance, _Princess_, my toes have felt worse, trust me." Cain reached for her hand and DG let him take it.

"Can't I finish my wine first?"

"You can have all the wine you want later. One dance." Perhaps one would lead to another, then another, and DG would forget all about the wine toward the end. "Your sister seems to be enjoying herself."

She glanced toward Jeb and Az, who were already smiling at each other with hopelessly enamored looks on their faces. "Those two were practically made for each other." DG was surprised they hadn't gotten together earlier, though she couldn't blame their hesitance either. Az had been a woman Jeb had been raised to despise, and now he was doing the opposite. Finally the boy saw sense, as slightly strange as it did make their family tree.

"Just like you for me, DG. Come on, kid." Cain pulled the untouched glass of wine from her hand, setting it on the table, and practically lifted DG out of her chair. "You didn't make me wear this hideous colored tie for nothing."

DG smiled at him, letting him lead her several steps away from the chair. "One dance, Wyatt Cain, you know I can't stand these heels." She hadn't wanted to wear they at all, though the dress was beautiful.

Cain stopped, staring at her for a few moments before leaning in to place his lips by her ear. "Take them off."

"Really?"

"As long as it makes you have fun, darling, I don't care what you do. You'll always be my girl."

DG grinned up at him, pressed a kiss to his cheek, then returned to the chair and slipped off the pesky shoes, sticking them under it. They'd sit there unless someone else wanted to try them on. She certainly wouldn't miss them.

"Come on." This time, DG grabbed Cain's hand, pulling him into the middle of the floor for a dance.

--

Several dances passed before Az decided she wanted a little break along with a little drink. Jeb promised to find the waiter with the type of cider she wanted and return as quickly as possible, leaving her standing by the chair where DG had left her shoes, munching on a pastry. Hopefully this wouldn't be too hard.

Without Jeb's presence at her side, Az felt strangely alone. Licking the cranberry sauce of the pastry from her fingers, she looked around at the guests she could see, finding none of them to be anyone she even vaguely recognized. Of course no one wanted to talk to the woman who used to be the witch, no matter how many times anyone told them otherwise or how much proof they had that she was no longer possessed.

A young boy chasing a little girl ran past her, then whirled and stared at Az for a few moments before approaching.

"You're the witch!"

She was slightly taken aback by his sudden accusation, but smiled and knelt down to his eyelevel. "I'm not the witch, sweetheart. I was possessed. She was a different person who was inside me, but she's gone now. I'm just Az."

"No, you're the witch," the kid insisted, nodding several times before crossing his arms over his chest. "You killed daddy!"

Oh, gods, why did this have to happen tonight? The smile dropped off of Az's face as she glanced between the floor and the boy's accusatory eyes. Maybe… Maybe… Oh goodness, what if he was right? She had been the witch, after all. What if she had some sort of dual personality? What if part of her had _enjoyed_ the things she'd done? A small flicker of fear crossed her eyes until a shrill voice broke through her thoughts.

"Brandon! What in the world are you doing? I told you not to speak to…" She paused, staring at Azkadellia for several seconds. She was still the princess, even if she didn't have the best of public relations right now. "…Her."

"I'm sorry, mommy." The kid ran up and grabbed his mother's hand, continuing to give Az apprehensive glances. "I just told her she killed daddy…"

"Yes, she did, now let's go."

While the last thing he woman had said had been hushed up, it was clearly meant to be heard. Az stood back up slowly, her gaze following the mother and child as they walked away. Is that what people thought of her? Did they consider her some sort of cruel monster who murdered their families in the night because she enjoyed it? She didn't! Did she?

The fear and confusion was painfully obvious in her eyes by the time Jeb returned with the drink she'd asked for. He set it down, taking both her hands into his. "What happened?"

"N-nothing. There was just this boy… He told me I killed his father…"

"You didn't, Az. You now that. **She** did, not you."

"But what if I did, Jeb? How could you even be here with me? You hated me!'

"I hated **her.**"

"What if it's all a lie meant to protect me? What if **she** was part of me… something Mother or DG blocked off that night, with the power of the emerald." Her voice sounded a little too frantic, a little too panicked, causing one of Jeb's hands to move to her upper arm, holding her still lest she bolt. It was clear Az wanted to run from everything that had happened in this room tonight. Several of the dancing couples stopped to watch their conversation.

"You are not the witch."

The calm tone of his voice brought her back to her senses. Az threw her arms around Jeb's neck, hiding the tears in her eyes in his shirt. "I'm sorry," she muttered softly, "I know… I should know. I'm just afraid that **she** might be me."

"**She** isn't." He pulled away, placing another spark of fear in Az's eyes until Jeb leaned back toward her. "I know **she** isn't." He closed the distance between them, pressing his lips to hers for barely a second before pulling away.

Az tilted her head to one side, staring at him with wide, wet eyes. He'd kissed her. Jeb had kissed her. As it fully registered, she pulled him closer again and kissed him.

--

Cain stopped DG in mid-twirl to point back to where she'd left her shoes, where Az and Jeb were now standing. "Look at them."

"At least they're happy."

She finished the spin by herself, getting closer than she should've to continue the dance. Pulling her hand out of his, DG placed it on his other shoulder, and kissed Cain herself.

The Gale girls liked their Cain men.

--

"Thank you, Jeb."

* * *

**Author's Note:** They kissed! They actually kissed! I'm excited, are you guys excited? I'm excited.

This chapter was a bit on the longer side for this story too, heh.


	10. Chapter 10

She'd been nervous about seeing Jeb again ever since the ball. He'd kissed her! He had, he had, he had. It had felt more like a dream than anything else. All that dancing, all that love, romance, happiness, and just about everything else in the room at the time. It had been perfect aside from the glances she'd gotten from families like that of the boy.

Az had broken down in tears after Jeb walked her back to her room. She wasn't able to help herself. What that little boy had said had struck her, even though Jeb had been able to distract her long enough for her to enjoy the rest of the night. She broke down and cried helplessly, with Jeb sitting on the side of the bed, holding unto her. Eventually, she'd thrown her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shirt. That night, Az had cried herself to sleep in his arms and he hadn't once complained. However, the lingering thought of being hated, or at least even mildly disliked by him for her outburst were too strong. He didn't stay the night. She understood why he hadn't. After all, that wouldn't be proper in any world! He had his own bed, his own rooms… Hell, he had his own life outside of her.

How could she be so selfish? How could she just expect him to stay with her like that? She'd wished he had, even though she barely knew the first thing about him. He felt so right holding her like he had that night.

So Azkadellia chose to hide from Jeb. She spent time in her rooms; having means brought up to her, wandering out only when she was certain that Jeb was on duty and away from her chosen path. She read in her rooms while she was trapped there and told the guards to tell anyone aside from DG that the princess had a headache and needed a nap. She knew that Jeb didn't accept the explanations, she couldn't be sure he even believed them, but she knew they would keep him away. He couldn't very well force his way in.

---

"DG, can you help me?" Unable to seek out the elder princess, Jeb went to his father's fiancée. He'd given Az two weeks since the ball, wondering if she really was sick or feeling under the weather, but knowing that it was more likely than not simply a plot to keep him away. He didn't want her to feel pressured by him. He didn't want her to stop. All Jeb wanted now was to know why she was hiding.

"What's up?" DG asked, flopping on her back on his dad's bed. She didn't know Az had been avoiding him. As far as Az had let her know, Az would see anyone, she just didn't want to leave her rooms more often than she absolutely needed to and DG assumed that it had something to do with avoiding those who still did not understand.

"It's about your sister."

"Az? What about her?" Turning over, DG tilted her head at him curiously. Was something wrong with Az?

"She's been avoiding me like the plague. Did I do something wrong? I can't remember. I mean, I took her back to her rooms that night at the ball and she burst out crying and I held her because it was the only thing I could think of doing and she fell asleep and I went back to my own rooms because otherwise that would probably be considered scandalous and--"

DG had gotten up while he was rambling and held a finger up to his mouth to stop him now. "Jeb, you've done nothing wrong, trust me," she stated matter-of-factly, smiling up at him. "No clue why she's been avoiding you, though. I was under the impression that she wasn't…" Certain that he wasn't about to ramble again, DG crossed her arms over her chest in thought.

"Hey! I have an idea!" The younger princess grabbed his hand, startling Jeb slightly, and pulled him toward the door, practically skipping out. "Let's go find out!"

---

Az placed the book facedown on her bed; still open to the same page she'd been on ten minutes ago. Could she really avoid the man who'd seemed so absolutely, hopelessly perfect until he didn't want to see her again?

Oh, but what if he was angry with her? What if he already didn't want to see her again because she'd been avoiding him? What if he'd gone and left or something because of her? What if he was dead? What if—

Her increasingly more morbid train of thought was interrupted by one of her three guards opening the door as if to say something to her only to be shoved aside by a bouncing DG who was pulling along a nervous looking Jeb. Oh. Oh! She'd brought him. Oh, she would have to get her sister a present and her eternal thanks for this moment, assuming Jeb wasn't nervous because they all wanted to hear him lie. He still liked her, right? Right? Oh, for the love of everything holy, speak boy. Speak! As if reading her mind, DG pushed Jeb forward and prodded him sharply in the ribs.

"Um. Hi," he said, giving her a meek smile. What does one say to a princess who's been avoiding them now? It seemed like straight-out asking her why would be rude and it didn't seem like a subject he could tiptoe toward slowly. "So…"

Her eyes were brimming with tears and she knew it wasn't helping the situation. At least he wasn't angry! At least he still seemed to want to see her, or want this conversation to happen… As DG gave Az a signature look that said too much to the other princess, Az moved forward and flung her arms around his neck.

"I missed you." She let the tears come, snuggling into his neck and holding herself close. To her great surprise and joy, Jeb wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to her temple as best as he could.

"I missed you too."

"Excellent!" DG exclaimed, patting Jeb on the shoulder and turning to flounce out of the room. "I'll leave you two alone."

Az was the first to break the embrace she'd flung herself into once she heard the door to her room close.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm such a mess, I know. I haven't really been eating well, or sleeping well or anything really. I'm sorry I've been avoiding you. I didn't know what to say or how you would react when I'd exhausted myself sobbing into your shirt. I'm sorry I probably ruined that shirt too…" Her voice got softer as she spoke, dying out when her eyes turned away from his face to stare at the ground just in front of him. "I'm really sorry."

Jeb cupped her cheek in one hand, tilting her face upward. "Look, I understand," he stated simply, giving her a little nod. "Well, I don't, but I think I do. I mean… I know how you feel. That little voice that always seems to think you're doing everything wrong…" She nodded and he smiled at her, pulling her closer again into a hug from which he could look down into her eyes. "It's alright, really. I understand."

"I didn't know what else to do," she muttered, relaxed by his arms around her and that soft blue of his eyes mixed with his warm smile. This man was absolutely perfect. Az laughed at the irony of the situation, and then blushed furiously, realizing she'd probably have to explain.

"Did I miss a good joke?"

"Oh, no… I'll… Um. I'll tell you later."

"Aw, come on, Princess Az. I'd like to hear the funny," he teased lightly, still picking his words carefully around her. He didn't want to upset her, and achieved the desired little smile.

"I'll tell you if you're good, Mister Cain." Az kissed his nose before wriggling out of his hug and picking her way toward a couch by the window on the other side of her room. "What have you been doing while I've been avoiding you?"

"This and that. Guard-stuff."

"Just tell me about it. I feel like I haven't seen you for weeks…"

"You haven't."

"Come on." Az patted the empty space of couch next to her and he came over, already chatting as easily as they had before the whole incident. Thank god he was quick to let things go. Could he really care about her that much?

---

"Let's play a game." Az dragged Jeb out to the gardens one day after his shift and her classes, before dinner. She felt restless and bored in her rooms, cooped up. She'd been there way too long for her own good and needed to stretch her legs a little bit. The guards accepted her idea of a little walk with Jeb in the gardens and kept a safe distance back. They could still shoot anyone that had their hands on the princess when it was undesired and could not catch more than unimportant snatches of conversation.

Lacing her fingers with his, Az grinned up at him as he raised an eyebrow. "Please, please! I want to play a game. I'm bored, come on."

"Well, alright princess. Your word is my command," Jeb teased as he let her go and gave her a fancy bow, earning himself a punch on the shoulder.

"Don't call me that. Its just Az."

"Princess Az."

Azkadellia paused for a moment, thinking of a fun game to play. Tag? Nah, she hadn't played that since she was a little girl. It held some not-so-good memories of childhood associated with it, anyway. The whole concept of chasing made her strangely nervous. Hide and seek? That was a pain in the behind with all the guards all over the place. Someone would think she was really trying to hide from Jeb and accidentally shoot him. Word games were no fun at all. What else was there?

"So what about that game?" Jeb inquired, crossing his arms in mock impatience at her.

"I'm thinking!" Az crossed her arms too, sticking her tongue out at him. "I just can't think of anything! You think of something…"

"You're the one who wanted to play a game." Jeb took her hand again as she uncrossed her arms, guiding her toward one of the larger ponds in the gardens. "How about skipping stones? That's… good, right?" He remembered something about her and DG skipping stones when they were young, and then DG finding the perfect stone on the perfect day… Hopefully it wouldn't make Az think of that time.

"Yeah, sure," she said, grinning up at him.

"Great."

---

Jeb picked up a particularly smooth stone only to have her stop his hand mid-flick, just before he let it fly across the pond.

"I like this one," Az proclaimed, pulling it out of his grip. It was really just a regular old stone, except, now that he got a closer look at it, it was an odd lavender color and almost perfectly round. "It's the same color as mother's eyes." She gave him a smile, holding it up for him to see. "Let's keep it. The perfect stone for the…" Az stopped. There. That line. She'd said it before, hadn't she?

Her eyes widened with a hint of fear. She didn't notice she'd dropped the stone and Jeb bent to pick it up for her. Suddenly, the perfect world around her twisted into a sick painting of something too good to be true. Why did this have to happen now? Why did Jeb have to lie to her like this? He couldn't possibly truly love her, could he? No, not after everything she'd done to him and his family… It simply wasn't possible!

Az took several steps back, now terrified of the man and the small rock in his hand, eyes scanning the little scene around them. It was possible to kill someone a thousand and one ways here and it was, no doubt, part of his plan.

"You dropped it," Jeb pointed out, picking up on her sudden fear. What had caused it? Was it something about previously skipping stones in Finaqua with her sister? He should have suggested something else…

She turned, as if to run, but then turned back. He had a gun, he had to have a gun, and running would do no good.

"Az. Azkadellia." Jeb took a tentative step toward her, hoping it wouldn't spook her. It didn't. "Azzy, I'm not going to hurt you. I wasn't going to hurt you that first night we met, I'm not going to hurt you now. The thought has never, ever even crossed my mind." Something snapped in her mind and his simultaneously then.

_He's lying. Run._ She ran.

"I love you."

* * *

**Author's Note**:  
There is no excuse for not updating. Nothing tragic happened. I haven't died.  
I don't know why I haven't done it. I'm really sorry. :[  
I'm going to sit down and try to finish the story now though, so hopefully I'll update a _little_ more often than once in forever.  
Yes. Yes I will.


	11. Chapter 11

Oh, she shouldn't have run off on him like that. He'd said something to her just as she had, but her screaming thoughts had overpowered it. She didn't remember and it was driving Azkadellia insane. Something… something… It could've been anything. She should not have run off because she wasn't running away from him, she was running from herself.

It was the phrase she'd spoken that sent the sudden surge of fear through her before everything went wrong. That one phrase about the perfect day was one of the few she'd spoken before the witch… It brought about bad memories that she didn't want to remember, but couldn't help herself remembering anyway. Everything from that one day from the little girl illusion, crying alone in a cave filled with mobats to the immense hatred for her sister and her mother that the witch felt inside her head at the sight of them together spun together for a fraction of a second; enough to make Az frantic. She'd also thought Jeb would want to kill her, again. Why did she keep thinking that? She couldn't help herself with that one either. Jeb felt so right when he hugged and kissed her, but a soft, nagging voice at the back of her mind persistently told her that he was only getting close to hurt her.

"God damn it," she swore aloud, causing her guard to glance over at her curiously. "Sorry, just thinking. Don't mind me, Johnson." The guard nodded, going back to staring out the window and Az diverted her thoughts to him instead. She'd always wondered what exactly it was guards did, standing around all day. What went through their minds? Maybe it was a story for another day…

Getting up from her seat in the library, Az decided that it was time to hide away in her room again. She didn't want to run into anyone, least of all her bouncing little sister, DG, who was always curious about everything, which seemed to include Az's love life more and more. As much as she loved spending time and sharing thoughts with DG, not today…

In the back of her mind, she knew she'd have to find him eventually and apologize.

---

DG found her sister in her room several hours later. She strolled into the room, carrying a large, freshly baked apple pie in her hands, followed by a furry dog who's eyes never left the pie.

"Heya, sister-o-mine," DG exclaimed, setting the pie down on the bed and giving the dog a stern glance before settling down against Az's footboard and staring at her.

"Hello DG."

"What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much… I'm just finishing up this book." Az shrugged, putting it down next to her. When DG came to visit, DG stayed until her guards forcefully removed her or Wyatt Cain showed up to steal her away. Seeing the younger princess slung over the shoulder of the Cain, often kicking and protesting fervently, was not an uncommon sight at the palace these days. Scandalous, the people said. Hilarious, the family called it.

"You're always reading Az!" And you never are, DG. They had several classes together. Where Az sat quietly, doodling little pictures and listening to Tutor, DG often either fell asleep or fidgeted up a storm. "I brought you a pie." Then, DG leaned over and picked up the furry dog to plop it on the bed as well. "And this is Francis. He's the cook's dog and he's here to tell you so much reading is going to ruin your brain."

"Oh DG," Az sighed, glancing toward the pie wistfully. "What else is there to do?"

"Mmm… Many things? You could explore the palace with me, bother dad, watch the men practice – let me tell you, they're pretty good with their hands," DG paused to wink and giggle at her sister. She would never consider seriously looking at another man besides Wyatt, but she loved her little jokes. Az nodded and smiled for her. "You could go riding. You could hang out with that boyfriend of yours." DG dragged the last word, looking toward Az expectantly. "You know, Jeb?"

"Deege, don't call him that. It's a little odd anyway, kissing him and thinking of you kissing his dad. We're sisters… that's a pretty big age difference there," Az pointed out, wondering if she should be looking at the old, old nobles that came to visit the palace instead. The idea of kissing one of them forced a laugh out of her.

"Age-shmage," DG proclaimed, crossing her arms. "If you go into that Wyatt-is-way-too-old-for-you nonsense, I will hit you with this pie." She picked it up and acted as threatening as she possibly could without breaking out into giggles.

"Not the pie!" Az put on a tragic, terrified face, the laughter all too obvious in her eyes. "Anything but the pie! Have you no mercy?"

"Watch it, missy, or the pie gets it."

Both little princesses burst out laughing and the pie survived.

How long had it even been since Az had this kind of fun with DG? They were always in class or busy or with their personal Cain-men… It seemed like it had been forever and a half ago that they just sat around and laughed together, but it was natural.

Just like kissing Jeb; natural.

Az liked it.

"So. So. So. Tell me about Jeb," DG finally announced after taking a deep, calming breath.

"There isn't much to tell." Az clearly attempted to shrug the question off; a wrong turn when it came to her sister.

"Do you loooveee him?"

"I… I don't know. He's maybe the greatest thing I could have… I mean besides you guys." Family first? "It just seems like it _should_ feel so wrong but it feels so right… That and I keep thinking he's going to turn and kill me. It's that odd little voice in the back of my head… You know?" DG frowned at her as Az spoke, picking at the pie with a fork she found in one of her pockets.

"Nope. I'm not the one hearing voices… sure you don't need to see a medic? Or Raw? He's quite good in the hearing voices department…"

"Yes. I'm fine. You could say I'm a little too in-tune to my subconscious, with all the time _I_ spent in there."

DG made a face, pulling out a large piece of apple and chewing on it thoughtfully. Francis whined at the pie, promptly getting a piece for himself as Az tangled her fingers in his long fur.

"But it also feels so right. Like… he's perfect, absolutely perfect," Az sighed, glancing toward the window.

"Oi, if you were more confusing…" DG wasn't even sure how to finish that sentence. "See now, with Wyatt, it just hit me in the head one day and hey, there I was, in love with him."

"That's because you fell down the stairs and hit your head, Deege. He was the first thing you saw, and you told him you loved him." Az stuck out her head. Maybe she should find some stairs to fall down while Jeb was nearby…

"And then he spent a while blaming medicine for my sudden hormones… but no, silly man. Here we are, getting married now."

"It's easier for you. Wyatt isn't supposed to want to kill you."

"Jeb doesn't want to kill you. I don't think he ever did," DG proclaimed, frowning. "He wanted to kill **her**, and there's a _huge_ difference Az. Seriously."

"Yeah. He says that too."

"Mmkay, I'm dropping this one and leaving it now… You do what you want, but don't you sit here all day and avoid the poor kid. If he goes to me again, I'm pulling out a pair of handcuffs and attaching you two at the ankle."

"Deege, be serious. How did you know you loved Wyatt?"

"I told you, I hit my head."

"No, I mean really…"

"I don't know. It hit me and I just knew… You know, everything feels right… perfect, almost…" DG's voice lowered and her eyes widened as exactly what her sister was thinking reached her. "You love him! You do!"

"I don't know, Deege. Don't say anything to him."

"You're kidding. Of course I won't, that's something _you_ need to tell him. Like. Soon. Now."

"No, no, he's on duty… He doesn't need a heart attack."

"Soon, Azzy, soon. Seriously. Wow. You love him!" The younger princess clapped her hands excitedly before turning to the pie and sticking a fork into it. "Have some pie, you're all skin and bones. You need to look _good_ in a wedding dress."

Az stuck her tongue out at her sister but reached for the fork.

"Guess I might…"

* * *

**Author's Note**: This one's kind of short, isn't it?  
I'm just not quite ready for everything that happens in Chapter 12 yet.

Glad you guys haven't forgotten me yet :D

The next chapter will be longer, I promise. :]


	12. Chapter 12

They spent many afternoons together, just like that, sitting alone on the couch in her room. Sometimes she read and Jeb napped, or the other way around, and sometimes they chatted quietly about the most unimportant things in the world. He felt like he'd known this woman all his life. She was the imaginary friend he'd had or the fish he used to talk to because no one else would stop long enough to listen to his stories when he was a child. Jeb was happy with her, although his nagging voice constantly reminded him that she was mildly afraid of him. Of course, there was also the fact that she was the princess of the OZ, perhaps someday the queen, and he was nothing but a guard who spent a little too much time with her. He was honestly quite surprised that the papers hadn't decided they were too scandalous yet.

"What were you thinking all those years?" Az put down her book, breaking the perfect silence and startling Jeb out of his thoughts about possible scandalous headlines for the two of them.

"Which years?" He had a nagging suspicion that she was talking about the long years under the witch's reign and silently wondered why she kept bringing it up. Every time they were together alone in her room, she would ask something or other about his time as a rebel leader or what exactly the people thought about her or something else that would do nothing but upset her. He didn't want to talk about it and could plainly see that she didn't either, but there was nothing to be done. If she were talking about what he thought she was talking about, he'd try to spare her the gory details.

"While… you know… when you were fighting against the Longcoats," Az prompted, pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them, her eyes on Jeb.

"I don't really know. Many things," he replied carefully, watching her for any sign of anything. Jeb would rather avoid the topic and wished she would too.

"Specifically."

"I missed those I knew, mourned for many I didn't. People were angry with anyone who tried to take them away from their families. Everything was to be expected really…"

"I'm really sorry. You lost Wyatt and… what happened to your mother?" Az hadn't gotten this bit of the story yet, although she'd been a little afraid of asking.

"I didn't lose him. I could hardly believe my father was alive that day… but I thought I had. The idea of his death took a lot out of mom. She went half-mad in the first year without him. Sometimes she'd come to my room and call me by his name… I wasn't sure what she thought of me or him or anything. I know I reminded her of him a little too much and threw myself into my work instead. She died." It didn't hurt him anymore to talk about Adora Cain. It had all been too long ago and he had settled with the idea of her no longer being the same wonderful, happy woman she'd been before the incident with the Longcoats.

"I'm so sorry," Az managed to say, covering one of his hands with her own. "It's all my fault." There were tears in her eyes now as she looked at him, managed to meet his gaze. "I should have been able to stop her… I didn't want any of it to happen! I was there each time she took over my mind and forced me to say and do things I never wanted to. She's killed so many people and I'm so--" Jeb kissed her before she could finish the sentence and she pulled back, away from him. "Sorry."

"None of it was your fault," Jeb stated firmly, taking both of her hands into his own and meeting her eyes. How could _this_ woman hurt anyone? How could she even think she could? This woman who stopped in the streets to pet a stray cat and give him a scrap of her own lunch, this woman who caught spiders and let them loose outside, this woman who was one of the kindest people he'd ever met. How could she think _that?_ Of all things, that was one Jeb wasn't able to understand.

"Yes it was."

"No. It was not. None of it, Azkadellia, was your fault." No matter how many times he repeated it to her, it didn't seem to settle down to stay. "Trust me, anyone who knows the full truth understands. Please just believe me…"

"You shouldn't be here," she stated in his tone of voice with significantly less feeling. Az lowered her eyes and attempted to pull her hands from him. "I want you here, but you should be trying to kill me. You shouldn't have forgiven me so easily because I killed your mother… You thought I'd killed your father… I've killed so many…"

Jeb cupped her chin in his hand and lifted her face up to look at him.

"Tell me, Az. Am I lying to you?"

"I—I don't think so… but you should be!" she exclaimed, bursting into tears. "You shouldn't have these feelings for me. It's so… not right…"

"Am I not right?" That hurt.

"Yes. No. That's not it at all… The idea isn't right, Jeb. You're…" Her lower lip continued to quiver as she reached up and wiped her tears away. "You're too perfect. It can't be right, happening to me."

"You deserve a little happiness, Azzy." He kissed her again. "Please believe me."

"I can't… So many people hate me…"

"No one does." That was a lie.

"Yes they do, Jeb, they do! You should hate me too… remember how I thought you were going to kill me?"

"Azzy, that was over six months ago. I didn't want to kill you then and I don't want to kill you now. Please. If anything, believe this… I love you."

"I—You do?"

"Yes."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him this time and meaning every second of it. This man was perfection. She didn't deserve him, she didn't even deserve to be friends with him, but this one time Az shoved the voice in the back of her head aside and let her feelings go.

"I think I love you too," she managed, breaking the kiss when she finally needed air.

"Good. You're the best thing ever, I don't want to lose you."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"One-hundred percent serious, Az."

She snorted a sort of laugh and kissed him again.

---

"Um. I'm sorry, I'm not really sure how to go about this but…"

Jeb stood awkwardly in front of Queen Lavender and her Prince Consort Ahamo in the meeting room, gnawing on his lower lip. He'd asked one of the queen's guards to get this meeting together in hopes of actually knowing what to say but found himself hardly able to speak.

What was the right way to do this, anyway? How did his father do this? He didn't know… His father wouldn't tell him… 'Do what feels right, but don't forget they're royalty.' What the hell did that mean?

"What're you trying to say, child?" Lavender asked, giving him a warm smile. He didn't feel at all comforted by it. She was the Queen, for god's sake. He'd never dreamt of meeting her, let alone asking for something like this…

"At least in the country… This is how my friend said it's done…" Excuses. "But… Anyway… I'd like to ask for Princess Azkadellia's hand in marriage." Err… Wait. Should that have been a question or a statement?

"Glinda's knickers, not another one!" Ahamo covered half his face with his hand, groaning before glancing up toward the ceiling. "Why? Why does this happen?"

"Err… I'm sorry, sir?" Crap. Clearly he'd done _something_ wrong. Had there been other people asking after Azkadellia? Was she already engaged? Married? Promised to become a nun? She certainly hadn't mentioned anything before… Was now a good time to back out of the room and forget the whole idea? Or, say, get himself appointed to guard a patch of desert on the border someplace? That sounded quite good, actually.

"Don't be afraid, child," Queen Lavender asserted, giving her husband an annoyed glance and elbowing him in the side. For just a few moments, Jeb was extremely confused before Ahamo turned his eyes on him and laughed again.

"Yeah, I scared your dad too. I bet that's why he didn't want to talk about it," he said in perfectly friendly tone, giving his wife an apologetic glance at the same time. "Sorry, kiddo, but why the heck are you asking _us?_"

"I… I just thought, you know… Maybe I should?" Was he not supposed to?

"Go ask her, you're going to be her husband after all, not ours. It's her choice."

"Oh well… Thank you, sir. Your highness." Jeb gave them both a bow in attempt to at least do something right and the Prince Consort let out a low snicker again only to be elbowed once more by his wife.

"Go ahead, child. What Ahamo meant to say was, you have our blessings, but the decision is ultimately hers and hers alone. It won't be influenced by us, her status or the people around her."

As quickly as he could, so as not to embarrass himself again in front of the two royals, Jeb fled the room, a feeling of happiness warm and snuggly in his chest. Azzy said she'd loved him just yesterday. Hopefully she wasn't afraid of commitments… hopefully he wouldn't scare her out of his life forever…

---

"What?!"

"DG! Calm down, girl… He's just going to ask."

"Dad! She didn't say anything. Oh my god, what if she says yes? She will, won't she?" DG laughed midway through her questioning, suddenly out of breath with excitement for her sister. "She'll have to. They're the cutest thing since the wolfhound puppies and Jeb totally loves her!"

Wyatt Cain stood by DG's side, looking totally and utterly shocked at the news her father came over to share. Jeb was going to propose to Az? And he was about ready to marry DG? Well… There was nothing wrong with family trees that took a few wrong turns and ended up circling a couple times, was there? Still. As far as Wyatt had known, Jeb and Az were very good friends, not… anything more serious… DG hadn't told him a thing.

"Deep breaths. You're not allowed to ask her anything until she brings it up, alright?" Ahamo warned, giving DG a stern glance before turning to leave. "Keep it in mind," he called over his shoulder when he was almost out the door. Leave Jeb's mother-in-law-to-be and his father to talk over her sister marrying their son. Geez, that was complicated.

"Kiddo, you didn't tell me anything about this," Wyatt stated, raising an eyebrow at his fiancée. "I was under the impression that they were only friends…"

"Wyatt!" DG dragged his name for almost a quarter of a second, rolling her eyes. "Those looks they give each other, the holding hands, the long walks in the gardens… I thought you might have noticed. Didn't Jeb say anything about it?"

"No. He goes to you for his Az-advice, remember?"

"Right-o. Either way, I'm so excited. Ooh, do you think he'll ask her tonight? Right now? After he talked to mom and dad?"

"Like your dad said, kiddo, deep breaths--"

"Stop calling me that. I'm not a kid, Wyatt, I'm your fiancée." DG placed her hands on her hips and attempted to walk away from him looking annoyed, but ended up tripping over her own skirts that were just a little too long. "Hate these things," she muttered angrily when he caught her.

"Of course, _princess,_" he stated, making DG roll her eyes at him again. "But… I really hadn't noticed. And here I was, thinking Jeb told me everything like he used to…"

DG stuck out her tongue at him and grabbed his hand, tugging him toward the door.

"Can we go find out? Please, please, please… Dad said Jeb came to them over an hour ago, so it's been over two hours now and he's bound to have asked her… It's almost time for dinner anyway."

It was Wyatt's turn to roll his eyes at the bouncy girl and follow her down the hall helplessly. The man could fight his way through fields of Longcoats, but when it came to this one girl, he was absolutely useless. No one argued with DG without an insane amount of puppy-dog pleading eyes and her begging. Almost everyone eventually gave in. He was surprised her guards didn't let her run around like the wild thing she was and someone, somehow, managed to get her into a dress. Give them an award.

---

Jeb knocked on her door this time, although her guards told him it was okay to just go right in. He heard the familiar, slightly curious 'come in' and opened the door to find Az curled up on her bed with a novel in her lap.

"Hello," she greeted cheerfully, giving him a small wave. "You're usually here earlier."

"I got a little caught up… had something to do," Jeb explained away, hoping she wouldn't ask him to elaborate. He had to ask her, tonight too because no doubt someone told DG and that meant half the court already knew, but he had to gather his thoughts together first.

"Oh," Az frowned but didn't question. "Well. Okay." She shifted her weight on the pillows beneath her, clearly picking something to talk about out of the blue. "I found a secret passage today behind the portrait of my grandmother, the one where she looks really scary."

"Oh. Interesting… Where does that one lead?"

"Very top of the castle, west tower. I have no idea why anyone wants to go there though… It's not much of a view of… anything."

"Maybe you'll find out," he said with a smile, wandering over to her. Jeb, just get it over with. Ask her. Now. It was easier if you didn't think about it. Just… follow your heart and do what feels right to you.

---

DG lifted a finger to her lips as one of Azkadellia's guards opened his mouth to greet them. This secret mission must be kept a secret until the last possible moment when she couldn't hold her breath anymore and needed to tackle her sister or Jeb or both in that order. Wyatt crept after her, looking both annoyed and amused by the younger princess' actions.

"I'm going to open the door just a crack," DG explained in a whisper to the mass of guards now crowded around one little door and Wyatt. "It doesn't creak, does it?" As soon as someone shook a head, she nodded and turned the handle. If she pressed her ear to the wall, she could just barely hear what was going on inside.

---

Jeb already had the ring. He'd had the ring since a few days after the day he'd told Az he loved her. He'd made up his mind a while ago, but he'd never had the guts to do it properly or to bring it up. Tonight, he'd find out how exactly Az felt about him… If they were meant to be…

Walking around the bed as nonchalantly as he possibly could, Jeb knelt before her, taking one of her hands and looking up at her. Az's surprised eyes met his, although she kept the silence. It was probably for the better.

"Princess Azkadellia… Err… Az. Azzy." Well, that was certainly an awkward way to begin anything, Jeb. Good job. Good job. "Would you marry me?"

---

DG let out a loud squeal as the words barely registered through the cracked open door, clasping her hands over her mouth and breaking out into excited giggles.

"Wyatt! Tell me what she says!"

It was his turn to press his ear to the door.

---

"I… Really?"

"Please?" He added with a small, hopeful smile.

"Yes. I'd love to." There were tears in Az's eyes as he picked the ring out of the box he'd held out, placing it on her hand. "I'd love to."

With that, DG burst into the room, dancing her way toward the bed and ending up almost on top of Azkadellia.

"You're getting married!"

"I… I am…" Az looked horribly uncertain of what had just happened and DG looked excited enough for the whole castle. Wyatt followed his overly excitable princess into the room, still amused by her antics and Jeb looked merely terrified.

"Congrats kid."

"Thanks dad."

"She's getting married!!"

"Yes, DG. Yes I am. And so are you."

"Oh, this makes the family tree a little knot, doesn't it?" DG giggled as Wyatt and Jeb exchanged glances and Az gave her sister a surprised and shocked look.

"That… shouldn't matter… right?" She wanted to be with Jeb, even if it screwed up the tree. Who looked at those, anyway?

"It doesn't, Az! You're getting married!" And DG leapt away from her sister, back out the door and down the hall toward the kitchens, singing 'Az is getting married' all the way.

By the end of the night, everyone knew.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Teehee. I don't think I have anything to say except that they are so cute. :]


	13. Epilogue

Az chose to go with warm colors as a theme, edging away from anything that may remind anyone at all of the emerald, the eclipse, darkness or anything else previously associated with the witch. She wore a white dress laced with ribbons of red and orange and Jeb a suit with a red tie, matching her chosen colors. Nothing stood out but one woman who decided to show up wearing all blue, Ozma only knows why.

The flowers crawled with all the warm shades imaginable, the carpet was a brilliant red, the wine was red, the cake was topped with miniature figures that swirled in a graceful dance, dressed the same as couple about to be married. DG was the maid of honor because Az got to get married first and Wyatt Cain refused to be the best man at his own son's wedding, passing the role over to one of Jeb's closest friends and second in command at the rebel camps. He looked horribly uncomfortable in the starched suit and everyone couldn't help but notice.

Ahamo walked the princess down the aisle, looking as proud as any father could giving his daughter away to a man he knew would take good care of her. Lavender sat in the front row, smiling with tears in her eyes.

It was beautiful. The papers went wild about the ex-witch marrying the ex-resistance leader. Controversy, they cried, plots to take over the kingdom and overthrow the newly found peace. For one day, everyone could ignore the papers, the rumors, the lies and bits and pieces of truths to be found in them. For one day, everything was absolutely perfect.

DG was a popular attraction after the ceremony; people questioning her about life on the other side and marveling at her total lack of knowledge about the fancier foods of the Oz. A group of children managed to escape from their parents and the younger princess ended up forgetting her courtly manners – much to Tutor's disappointment – to kick off her shoes and give them all piggyback rides. Az and Jeb were amused. Old nobles from self-named important families looked down with shock at a princess of the Oz acting in such a manner. No one from the royal family particularly cared.

Wyatt Cain didn't allow the younger princess more than two glasses of wine that evening. Juice for the little princess if she plays with the little kids, he claimed, but she ended up with much more than that anyway.

Az ended up teaching Jeb to dance in five easy steps and they soon became the first couple on the dance floor during every waltz. He only stepped on her toes a few times.

The warrior women of Ix and the nobles of Ev couldn't miss the ceremony, although no one specifically invited them. Security breaches, complained all the guards in the area, but nothing more than the large, glass swan was harmed.

The cake was cut and the dancing figurines bowed to the newly weds before losing the last of their simple enchantment and standing perfectly still. Az animated them again and gave them to a little girl – a daughter of the head cook who'd helped her mother with the prepared feast.

DG insisted that Az throw the bouquet, although the habit was unfamiliar to Azkadellia herself. After her sister explained why the other-worlders did that, a small group of eager young maidens gathered in front of Az, eager to catch it. DG got to it first, smacking Wyatt with the flowers when she did. Everyone knew what wedding was to come sometime soon…

The perfect day dragged on into the perfect night as many guests needed lodging in one of the palace's many rooms and several shared with family or friends with plans to go home in the morning. Az and Jeb disappeared shortly before midnight and were not seen for the rest of the party while DG insisted she stay up all night and finally fell asleep shortly before dawn in Wyatt's arms.

They couldn't have asked for a better wedding.

* * *

**Author's Note:** And that's the end of that story.  
Thanks for sticking with me through that, all you wonderful people out there. :] I hope you enjoyed it, even if I did go poof on you all for quite a while so very close to the end of it. (I'm sorry! So sorry!)  
I'm also sorry for all the silly typos and stuff I know I've made in here - I think I called Az a 'he' once... I need to get me a beta reader eventually.

My Jeb and Az muses begged for an epilogue and my DG muse is still hung-over from the party, silly girl. Wyatt did warn her.

Yes. Well. Um. That's all, really.


End file.
